Stade


The seafront area known as the Stade (below East Hill) is home to distinctive black clapboard structures known as Net Shops. These were built to store fishing gear back in the 17th century, but some now house fishmongers who sell off the catch of Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet, usually hauled up on the shingle behind. All these fishy goings-on keep the Stade very much a working place, with the combined pong of diesel and guts scenting the air.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Fishermen’s Museum

0.05 MILES

Shoals of barnacled exhibits swim around the huge Enterprise fishing boat at this Stade museum, housed in a former fishermens’ church. Next door you can…

2. Shipwreck Museum

0.07 MILES

An old-school repository of junk salvaged from various vessels that have sunk in the Channel, plus sections on fossils and diving.

3. Jerwood Gallery

0.12 MILES

This large, purpose-built exhibition venue at the end of the Stade is used for temporary shows of contemporary British art as well as themed installations…

4. Smugglers Adventure

0.24 MILES

On West Hill, a short walk east of the Hastings Castle, is the Smugglers Adventure, where you can explore underground caverns and hear smuggling yarns…

5. Hastings Castle

0.42 MILES

This fortress was built by William the Conquerer, and an exhibition in the grounds tells the story of the castle and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

6. Hastings Pier

0.98 MILES

Hastings last hit the national news in 2010 when its Victorian pier burnt down. The ballroom at the end, where the likes of The Clash, Sex Pistols,…

7. Hastings Museum & Art Gallery

1 MILES

A short walk west of the train station, this marvellous little museum is housed in a red-brick mansion. Highlights inside include the intricately Moorish…

8. Battle Abbey

6.24 MILES

On this spot raged the pivotal battle in the last successful invasion of England in 1066: an event that had an unparalleled impact on the country’s…